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Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Hi - it's nearly December, and whilst a chill of fear trickles down the back of my neck at the thought of all the Christmas shopping I still have to do, there is the advantage that soon I'll be able to get all my decorations and ornaments out. And speaking of which, I recently found a pair of these lovely Cox & Cox antiqued glass hanging hearts - boxed and perfect as a present [yeah yeah] or to keep for yourself. And cos I'm nice like that, I'm giving them away. They come with velvet ribbon already attached and the RRP is £10.50.

To enter, please use the Rafflecopter widget. Giveaway open worldwide and I will do my best to wrap the the box in extra bubblewrap! You must be a follower of the blog to enter - any other follows are entirely optional.

I have put the Ta-dah! Tuesday link up as well as I have everyone to visit, but my laptop is still ropey so it may take me a while to get around to commenting on your post, but I always do. The link up is separate from the giveaway. Hope everyone's well.

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Hello...is it me you're looking for? Following on from last week's brief addiction to YouTube, here's another way to waste your life 5 minutes if you're bored. Finding out which celebrity you look like! Remember how horrified you were that time a drunk old man in Wetherspoons told you that you look just like a character from Coronation Street? The one with a face like a slapped arse and 20 years on you? Or the momentary thrill when your ex-boyfriend told you looked a bit like Mylene Klass? If it was dark and she'd put on 3 stone? Well, why not relive those moments with me and upload your photo to this utterly useless website I found recently?

Here it is - the Celebrity Look Alike Generator - or as I prefer to call it, the 'Which balding old man do you least resemble? Generator'. Choose your latest least hideous photograph - aka Facebook profile pic - and let the magical face recognition gremlins do their work. Want to see?

Wow. I can't believe no-one ever mentioned how much I look like Michael Bloomberg, 70 year old mayor of New York City. Or star of Jaws, and rakish moustache wearer Richard Dreyfuss. I had no idea who the last dude was, but apparently Joseph Biden was the 47th Vice-President of the United States. Sorry Joe. And he's 70 as well. I mean, seriously?? No Richard Gere? No George Clooney? Sheesh, if I MUST be a silver fox I'd even take Philip Schofield over this lot. Ok, I did get Melanie Griffith as well, but I'm not considering that as much improvement.

Maybe it's a recent phenomenon? Perhaps turning 36 has turned me from a fresh faced nubile young thing into celebrity Grandpa. I'll try a photo from a few years ago:

FFS! Now I'm bald as well!

Ok, Richard Dreyfuss again. But in a very slightly different pose. That means I must look like him. [Note to self: buy Veet.] The only woman in the world who looks like Bruce Willis is his daughter Rumer, so we can assume that's a glitch in the matrix. But Rudolph Giuliani? As well as Michael Bloomberg? Well, spank my ass and call me mayor! It must be my DESTINY. I'm headed out for my first trip to the Big Apple next June - I'm guessing they're going to vote me right in.

*******

I fared a little bit better on Face Double, as at least I wasn't told I was a man. I was however matched with either black or Latina celebs, which is not a problem aside from the fact that my skin tone, hair and eyes all scream 'pasty white English girl'. I can see that with our round hamster cheeks stunning beauty we might have something in common, but otherwise I can't say anyone is ever likely to get me and Gabrielle Union confused. [What do you mean 'Who's Gabrielle Union?'. She was in Bring it On as head cheerleader of the Clovers. Like, duh.]

I can't say I'd be at all upset to be mistaken for America Ferrera either. That's assuming they were thinking of her as she actually looks in real life, and not this version:

Yeah, I'm not publishing the pictures of me with a fringe, just in case.

It's me...Ugly Betty!

*******

Basically, I think I have an old-school look. Celebs of today just don't gel with my style. I'm crap at hair much beyond a ponytail, so I'm not a blogger you'll see rocking pincurls or a beehive. Thank goodness for Yearbook Yourself. Check yourself out as you would have been from the 1950s to 2000.

1952

1958

1992

What a timeless beauty, huh?

Lakota x

PS. I appear to have killed my laptop. I've been keeping up with everyone on my phone, and this post was done on the aged computer, but sorry for the lack of comments. I believe I've mentioned electrical appliances' short lives around me before - this is why I rarely hoover.

PPS. Oh, and link up anyway. I will read, honest! And tell me who you look like - I insist.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

[Warning: this post contains images of swastikas, as used in Eastern cultures.]

Bit of a thoughtful and possibly contentious post today, following on from a chat with my husband yesterday. As I've said, he's away in India at the moment, on another two week business trip. He's currently staying in a business district of Hyderabad, in a hotel used mainly by Westerners. He wasn't working when I spoke to him, as his colleagues in the office out there all had the day off to celebrate Diwali.

My husband is Jewish. He's culturally Jewish, rather than religious, as is the case with most of his immediate family. We live in London. He has friends and colleagues of all kinds of religious and ethnic backgrounds and he travels a lot as part of his job. He is well aware that the swastika is an ancient religious symbol, derived from Sanskrit and denoting 'good luck', and that it's used extensively in Buddhist and Hindu parts of the world; as well as by the Native American people. He is also well aware that it was misappropriated by Hitler and his Nazi party, and that the swastika on the Nazi flag has been tilted 45 degrees. It is also missing the dots which would often sit inside the open areas. He knows all this, yet it still felt 'like a kick to the gut' to walk out of his hotel room and see this design in the lobby:

Happy Dewali sign made in coloured stones - hotel lobby, Hyderabad

What are your immediate thoughts? I am not Jewish, but like anyone brought up post 1940s Europe - and who doesn't have fascist leanings - the flag of the third reich inspires nothing but revulsion. Whilst it is not strictly illegal to display Nazi memorabilia in the UK - unlike in Germany, France, Italy, Hungary and Israel - it is widely considered to be in extremely poor taste. We do have laws against 'incitement of racial hatred', so wearing swastikas or painting them all over your house would have you on shaky legal ground. However, all this applies to the flag itself - the swastika within a white circle, on a red background. [I would rather not have a picture of it on my blog, we all know what it looks like.] To me, that stylised version above is quite far removed from that on the Nazi flag - and clearly there was no intent to offend - Diwali is a joyous occasion, as important culturally in India as Christmas is here. However, Ben saw it immediately. The connections made in his brain inevitably lead him to the missing branches of his family tree. Those who came from Poland, not Latvia. The cousins of his step-father who never made it out of the camps. I am never going to have the same gut-clenching personal reality.

To many, that swastika is a similar to Hitler's as this Letterman's jacket is to the anarchy symbol - the same root, but signifying completely different things:

Suppose violent anarchy took off again in the UK - the return of the riots we saw in the Summer of 2011, but this time leading to millions of deaths and the virtual collapse of society - would the symbol on the left seem as innocent? Or would it be tainted forever? Like the yellow swastika above, it might seem cuddlier looking to those who weren't directly affected, but for others the association would be immediate and inherently negative. [Likewise, it would be terrible but fascinating from a theoretical standpoint to wonder what would happen if a terrorist group committed atrocities using the Star of David as their 'stolen' symbol. Would it be given up by the Jewish faith as a result?]

Of course, context and background are everything. You can accept that the only place the swastika denotes fascism is on the Nazi flag - but how about if you see it spray-painted on a wall as you walk through an unfamiliar part of town? If it's carved into the table in the pub you're sat in? Your first thought is probably not going to be 'Buddhist temple nearby', as it might be if you were in Japan. [See flickr picture here - I don't have rights to use the photo]. If in the UK, I see a swastika in one of those scenarios, I shudder. I walk a little faster, or I finish my drink up quicker than I'd planned. That spindly graphic design, even divorced from the flag which attempted to 'trademark' it, still hums with menace. It says aggression - and even if you're not Jewish, or black, or gay, or a gypsy, or any other arbitrarily decided minority, the threat of violence is tangible.

"A boot stamping on a human face forever" George Orwell, 1984.

That's the most perfect description of fascism I can imagine, and it's the line that comes to mind when I see 'that' swastika.

I am educated enough to realise that if I saw it on a poster advertising yoga classes at a Buddhist centre (for example) that the intent would not be the same, but I think that sad though it may be, a socially conscious yoga teacher wouldn't use the symbol anyway.You can argue until you're blue in the face that language changes and 'mong' just means a foolish person, but you just don't use it in front of a Mother of a child with Down's Syndrome unless you're an unmitigated git. [or Frankie Boyle]. Ditto using the word 'gay' to mean stupid or pointless - why use a word in a way that can hurt someone when you don't need to? Maybe I'm too old to have picked up this particularly uncharming bit of slang, but at least I don't have to spend my time going 'Oh, sorry, haha' in front of certain friends. Explaining that someone's visceral reaction to a word or symbol is wrong doesn't make them feel better. Just apologise. Or better yet, think and don't use it.

I rang my friend Sunita earlier, and asked her whether the swastika spoke more to her as a Hindu symbol, or whether her immediate thought was fascism. She was more easily able to disassociate the two because of her family's cultural background, but as she is British - and the Holocaust is a vital part of our secondary school curriculum here - she agreed that seeing the swastika alone would still signal racism to her. I realise this 'evidence' is merely one person's opinion, but I do think that rehabilitation of the symbol is impossible in Europe and the Western world.

[This has turned into an essay, sorry].

Anyway, if you agree with my points above as they relate to the UK, shouldn't the same care for people's feelings - on both sides - apply in India? My husband is not one of the ranks of the 'professionally offended'. He does not make a fuss. We know that the symbol does not carry any of the same connotations there - however he did have to explain to a friend and colleague who had taken him to a market why he could not possibly buy any wooden goods decorated with swastikas. His colleague was somewhat bemused, the cultural significance of the holocaust being almost zero to him. It would be pointless to see a swastika on a building - as a personal attack. If this was a house in the UK - it would be easy to justify refusing an invite. Who but a racist would decorate their home in such a way? But if this were a friend's family home in India, is it worth risking giving grave offence when none was meant?

I can't speak for Ben as we didn't discuss this scenario, but I would consider it rude to bring up the the cultural resonance it has for us, unless I was directly asked why I looked uncomfortable. Of course, I will say again - I am not Jewish.

Sunita - my friend - agreed it was a different matter when it comes to the hotel. Given that their clientele is almost exclusively Western business travellers, should they perhaps be a little more circumspect in deciding what are appropriate symbols to use? The sign was after all in English - so not aimed at locals. The intent was good, but the execution could be improved. I know that horrible racism and intolerance is experienced in the UK every day, but our I believe our basic tenets of law and government are good. We're against 'honour killings' and female oppression, but we have freedom of religion and know better than to decorate hotels with cartoons of the prophet Mohammed - to give a crazy example. The world is getting smaller - our global village has never been more crowded. Tolerance means understanding - not that we should tolerate hurting each other when it could be avoided.

What are your thoughts?
Lakota x

There is an interesting article and comments in the Jewish Week here, if you want to read more opinions.

Tuesday, 13 November 2012

Hi, I am wrestling with another post which will hopefully go up later today, however it really isn't in keeping with the light-hearted theme of Ta-dah! Tuesday, so I will put the linky up here to keep them separate.

Thanks for all the funny video recommendations, you've kept me sane! Check out some more over on my Facebook page.

Friday, 9 November 2012

My husband is away again. He's in India for a fortnight. This basically means I revert to my baseline state of being, which is that of a 14 year old, only without the One Direction obsession and sucked in cheeks Facebook profile pic. The children still get to fed and taken to school, but there's a lot more eye-rolling and big sighs about how unfair it is. Then I come home, refuse to make my bed and watch urban street-dance movies until it's time to pick them up again.*

Anyway, when I get tired of perving over Channing Tatum - kidding! like that would ever happen - I turn to the natural refuge of the terminally bored, YouTube. Aah, YouTube - where all those racist Yahoo News commenters start out. Home of the cute cat, impossibly beautiful Filipina makeup vlogger, and stupid people attempting to eat cinnamon from a spoon. [look up 'cinnamon challenge'.]

So, here's the videos which have made me snort diet coke out my nose the most over the last couple of days. Some are new finds, some are old favourites.

YETI - I can't describe how genius I think this is. But then I have a childish sense of humour. Someone has lip-read Coldplay's 'In my Place' and come up with completely new lyrics which fit the movement of Chris Martin's mouth. Then recorded the song. And it's the best work Coldplay have never done.

"I called but you ran to the forest..."

HALLOWEEN LIGHTSHOW - GANGNAM STYLE - Has Psy's catchy like herpes Korea pop outstayed its welcome yet? Hell no. Not when you can have your whole house singing along. OK, so I would hate to live opposite someone like this - our neighbour's security light alone makes me twitchy - but I can appreciate it from a distance of approximately 3000 miles and my laptop.

Tuesday, 6 November 2012

Hi, I thought today I would just give you a quick look at one of the presents I was lucky enough to receive for my birthday. I've mentioned my Aunt and Uncle before, and when they're not at the races they're hunting for treasure at antiques fairs - lucky me that they have a great eye!

It's an antique silver stamp holder, hallmarked Birmingham 1906. What with postage being sky-high these days, even a second-class stamp deserves better than being jammed into your purse next to some old receipts and train tickets, don't you think?

I think we'd been discussing my auntie's silver wine labels collection, and that led me to mention an article I'd seen earlier in the year in Homes & Antiques, where they had stamp holders as 'antique of the month'. I said how pretty I thought they were. Obviously she remembered.

Look - there's mine!

[BBC Homes & Antiques - February 2012]

I've put a chain on mine and have been wearing it as a necklace. Spoilt aren't I?

Do link up any of your latest makes, greatest finds, loveliest outfits or just things you'd like to show off about.

My only achievement this week has been getting the Christmas swap partners sorted, so if you're playing, please do take a look and see who you're with.

Monday, 5 November 2012

It's here, I've done it at last! I am sorry that it took me over a week from sign up closing to get partners up, but the swap has got bigger each time I've done it - and I have to try and assign someone in the right area, who you haven't swapped with before, and hopefully (where possible) whom you might have something in common with as well! This time I had far fewer people from Australia and NZ so I hope it's not a problem if your partner is in the other country. I am aware that postage costs can be high - it's now ridiculous in the UK - so a lot of people specified their own country only. There are some lovely blogs I've not seen before which I hope to make time to check out properly. Also apologies if you've left me comments recently and I've not returned the favour.

Please make contact with your partner as I may well not have time to leave a comment on 86 blogs giving people a nudge! Some people may have more than one blog so you could also check their profile on the original sign up post here. Any problems do let me know via my email on the sidebar, but please remember this is the internet and I can't individually vet everyone who wants to take part. But I'm sure everyone's still up for it - I've only had very few reported issues in the previous three I've run and far far more reports of great gifts and new friends. So, without further ado...

***EDIT - ignore the endings of the blog addresses, as I'm in the UK somehow they automatically convert to co.uk even if your blog is elsewhere in the world. It will redirect automatically***

Pixie http://pixierambles1966.blogspot.co.uk/

Crafty Smiles http://craftysmiles.blogspot.co.uk/

Mrs D http://hellothemushroom.blogspot.co.uk/

yesmissfoxhttp://yesmissfox.wordpress.com/

Wendy http://thebutterflybalcony.blogspot.co.uk/

Lucy http://fortiesknitter.blogspot.co.uk/

Simple Country Girl http://www.simplecountrygirl.com/

Jewel http://prettylittlejewels.blogspot.co.uk/

Emma Kate http://paintedstyle.blogspot.co.uk/

Julie http://shabbychic08.blogspot.co.uk/

Pam @ over 50 feeling40 http://www.over50feeling40.com/

Style Sud-est http://stylesud-est.blogspot.co.uk/

Rebecca http://crivenscottage.blogspot.co.uk/

Linda/simply vintagehttp://vintagehearth.blogspot.co.uk/

Linda http://heyhomewrecker.blogspot.co.uk

Fat Dormousehttp://fatdormouse.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dormouse.wibsite.com/

Jem http://beautifulclutter.blogspot.co.uk/

Lakota http://faithhopeandcharityshopping.blogspot.co.uk

Terri http://www.ragsagainstthemachine.com/

Mistress Catgirl http://agirlofmanyinterest.blogspot.co.uk/

Sian Lile http://sianlilemakes.blogspot.co.uk/

Sooz http://lastbiscuit.blogspot.co.uk/

Joyatrihttp://www.joyatri.com/

miss_bhttp://polkadotsandpinkflamingos.blogspot.co.uk/

My Turquoise Queenhttp://myturquoisequeen.wordpress.com/

Anna http://goldliondiaries.blogspot.co.uk/

Edie Pop http://factorymom.blogspot.co.uk/

Sacrementohttp://www.mispapelicos.com/

Single Married Mumhttp://patchworkparent.blogspot.co.uk/

Jenny http://the-gingerbread-house.co.uk/

Beki http://bekisbloggybits.blogspot.co.uk/

Hannah Ackroydhttp://hannahackroyd.wordpress.com/

Vickyhttp://theowlandtheaccordion.blogspot.co.uk/

Janeyhttp://isthatyoudarling.wordpress.com/

Menopausel supermodelhttp://menopauselsupermodel.wordpress.com/

Crystal in Texas http://texastreasurebox.blogspot.co.uk/

Crafty Mum http://crafty-mum.blogspot.co.uk/

The Undomesticated Scientisthttp://undomesticatedscientist.blogspot.com/

Lizzy http://handmade-homemade-lizzy.blogspot.co.uk/

A handmade lifestyle http://ahandmadelifestyle.blogspot.co.uk/

Dresden Faehttp://kathrynscuriouslife.blogspot.co.uk/

mrsmmakeshttp://mrsmmakes.wordpress.com/

Jean at Dross into Goldhttp://drossintogold.com/

Bella Q http://www.thecitizenrosebud.com/

Style Agent 909http://styleagent909.blogspot.co.uk/

Tami von zalez http://thriftshopcommando.blogspot.co.uk/

Franca http://www.oranges-and-apples.com/

Pearl Westwoodhttp://fashionpearlsofwisdom.co.uk/

The life of a textiles teacherhttp://thelifeofatextilesteacher.blogspot.co.uk/

Ivy Black http://ivyandruby.blogspot.com/

Kimberley Atkinson http://creativechaosnz.blogspot.co.uk/

cassmob (pauline) www.troppont.wordpress.com

Tales of a pale face http://talesofapaleface.blogspot.co.uk/

lady bug says http://lady-bug-says.blogspot.co.uk/

Hannah Brookerhttp://cupcakemumma2011.blogspot.co.uk

Louise Dolding http://louiselovescake.blogspot.co.uk/

Rose and Birdhttp://pacificrobin.blogspot.co.uk/

Kat got the cream http://katgotthecream.blogspot.co.uk/

Cute as a buttonhttp://cuteasabutton82.wordpress.com/

anglers rest http://anglersrest.blogspot.co.uk/

Jennifer @ Town and Country livinghttp://townandcountryliving.blogspot.co.uk/

Congratulations Jan - please let me know your address details - my email is on the side bar - and I will get your polishes in the post as quickly as I can. I hope you enjoy them, and continue to read Faith Hope and Charity Shopping.

Saturday, 3 November 2012

How fab an idea for an online party is this? Kylie of Lucy Violet Vintage and Donna from Hung up on Retro had the inspired idea to host a link up where all the participants agreed to make something, erm, different from one of their retro cookbooks, or from vintage recipe inspiration online. How could I refuse to take part? If you pop over to their blogs you'll discover such tempting delights as 'Salmon party salad' and 'Black Magic Chocolate cake made with condensed tomato soup' (I kid you not). I didn't quite get organised enough to cook an entire three courses, but as it's half term - the time the kids are allowed Nutella on toast or cocoa-pops for breakfast - I decided a new breakfast treat would be perfect. But what to cook?

Let's see, breakfasts...Aah yes, PERFECT

'The Complete Hostess' is a book I found for 20p at a car boot sale earlier in the year, and it's filled with 'Menus, Table Etiquette, Party Hints and Recipes'.

Nell writes with such authority - "The charm of a well-set table can do much to overcome the early morning grumps of some people" - that I knew she'd have a great suggestion or two up her sleeve to 'vary the breakfast menu'. What could be more delicious than 'cod in custard sauce'?

Mmm, cod SMOTHERED in custard

Not being a massive fan of custard I just make it as and when it's demanded from an aged tub of Birds yellow powder, which went out of date sometime after the war. Therefore I've never made 'proper' custard with egg yolks, and was a little alarmed to note Nell's breezy assumption that one would already know how to do it. Still, by the time I'd drunk a little medicinal gin and tonic and smoked a pack and half of cigarettes - so good for the figure! - I was ready to give it my best shot.

"It is wise to provide an ash-tray either on the table or at some convenient place, as nothing is so unpleasant as ash in the tea or coffee cups and saucers"

Nell Heaton

Anyway, I merrily flaked my cold boiled cod - 50s housewife Lakota has no concern for the depletion of the oceans - and whisked away frantically with my hot milk and egg yolks. I'm sure Nell wouldn't have dropped her nutmeg in the custard while she was grating it, but I imagine that just infused it with extra flavour.

Mmm, let's see how that custard turned out shall we? Only slightly curdled! Come along children! Spit spot!

Come back Birds, all is forgiven. I'm not sure that the violent yellow colour of powdered custard would have been much less appealing than the anemic looking sauce with speckles which I created - perhaps using that lurid dyed yellow haddock would give it a bit more colour. Or maybe it doesn't matter as I should be using "a gay spotted or checked cloth in my breakfast nook".

I bribed the smallest boy with the promise of something from his trick or treat stash, but typically Boy1 didn't need much persuasion. Do you remember Joey in Friends when Rachel accidentally made a trifle using beef sauteed with peas and onions along with jam and lady-finger biscuits? That's my eldest. "Fish? Good. Custard? GOOOOD". I thought even he would be defeated on seeing his initial expression:

But his 'I'll eat anything' genes won out in the end!

Good job Mum!

Of course I wasn't so evil as to make the boys try something I wasn't willing to eat myself:

Here goes...

Gosh, I'll never eat Kelloggs again!

Who's up for breakfast at my place tomorrow? Anyone?

Lakota x

Have a great weekend and don't forget to check out everyone else's creations!

About Me

Cake, booze, sweets. American TV boxsets. Decaf. Words, words, words. Buying coats and forgetting I need outfits to go underneath. Stationery. Nail varnish. Pop culture dissector, kitchen dancer, charity shopper. Lazy perfectionist. Prone to inappropriate crushes on fictional characters. Long time rocker, reformed raver. I also like French rap and turning the bass in my car up as loud as it will go. Big believer in birthdays. My weapons of choice are sarcasm and the gluegun.